Accidentally In Love
by Kelley2
Summary: When Caleb and Will find themselves trapped in Meridian will they see something that was always right in front of them? Will and Caleb Pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Accidentally in Love  
Rating: PG  
Summary: When Caleb and Will find themselves trapped in Meridian will they see something that was always right in front of them? Will and Caleb Pairing.  
Disclaimer: They're not mine.  
Author's Note: I've only ever seen the TV show, so that's what this is based on. For some reason, I really like the idea of Will and Caleb together, especially since I finally saw the episode "It Resumes," and it triggered this story in mind that just wouldn't go away. For the purposes of the story the episode with the final battle never happened, and Matt never found out that Will was a Guardian. Hope you enjoy!

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Caleb sat straight up in bed, gasping for air and drenched in sweat. His eyes swept over the boxes and restaurant supplies and breathed a sigh of relief. He was on Earth…it had been a dream…only a dream…he thought as he swung his legs out from under the covers and rested his arms on his legs.

He had been dreaming about Meridian. There had been a battle; people were dying and there wasn't anything he could do to stop it. It had been so vivid…so real. Caleb glanced around the restaurant basement that also served as his bedroom on Earth, considering the source of his anxiety. He had been on Earth for two weeks this time, and while he was here he was completely cut off from what was going on at home.

It had been over a year… A year of fighting…a year of death and destruction… A year since Elyon's coronation…something that was supposed to make everything better, but it hadn't. Phobos hadn't drained her powers as he had planned, but instead had chosen to rule through her. They had shown her the true Meridian, but she had still chosen to believe Phobos and didn't trust the Guardians.

It had been a tiring year and it was beginning to take its toll on all of them. The girls had started to become more withdrawn. The only outsiders they would let in were Mrs. Lin, who they would never be able to get rid of (nor did they want to), and Matt, Will's boyfriend. Although Caleb didn't think they were going to be together for much longer.

Of course, he and Cornelia were on rocky ground as well. The loss of her oldest friend, and the fact that Elyon believed Phobos over her, had caused her to become more withdrawn resulting in a strain on their relationship. She was also losing the will to fight. Cornelia would help when she was needed by the other Guardians, but would rarely join in voluntarily. Caleb's need to do more, and Cornelia's lack of belief in their fight was making it harder and harder for them to be together.

Luckily, Will, and through her the others, still believed in their fight, and they were doing everything in their power to rid Meridian of evil.

Caleb's heartbeat had finally returned to normal, and he had gotten up to get dressed. The dream was still running through his mind, and he felt like he needed to do something. He just didn't know what. Something was wrong at home; he was sure of it. He glanced over at the map of Meridian that he had drawn and taped to the wall, and groaned in frustration. This was ridiculous…he was overreacting. It had only been a dream…but what if it wasn't?

Will…if he found Will she could open a portal for him and he could see for himself. He could reassure himself that everything was fine.

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Will watched the ducks floating down the river as she listened to Matt rambling on about…something. Unfortunately, she had stopped listening to him twenty minutes earlier. They were at the park enjoying a picnic…well, he seemed to be enjoying it…she was bored to tears. Somehow it all seemed so frivolous…sitting here listening to her boyfriend babbling on about his band being chosen to play at the school dance again this year, while she was mentally reviewing battle plans.

It wasn't Matt's fault; he didn't know what was really happening in her life. Will had never told him she was a Guardian of the Veil, and she had never had any intention of telling him. He didn't even know what the Veil was! But she was tired of lying to him…tired of pretending to be something she wasn't. Tired of pretending to be a normal human girl. She was a Guardian…a fact of life she had accepted a long time ago. Truth be told, she liked being a Guardian. In the beginning she had liked that he was separate from that part of her life, but now…now he didn't seem to fit. She had been trying to end things for a few weeks now, but so far she hadn't been able to do it.

Will watched as Matt got more and more excited about the dance and wished she felt the same way. She felt the Heart of Candracar through her jeans pocket and reminded herself that it would be for the best. She couldn't keep pretending to be two different people; it wasn't fair to either of them. Will knew she needed to break up with him, but every time she tried to he would give her that smile that would make her knees go weak and she would talk herself out of it.

Will had been lost in her thoughts for so long that she hadn't noticed that Matt had stopped talking. She glanced over to find him staring at her expectantly. Had he asked her a question?

Will took a deep breath. This was it…time to end it. "Matt…I think…" And that was as far as she got before being interrupted by Caleb's voice calling her name. She turned in the direction his voice had come from, and saw Caleb running towards them, obviously concerned. Something must have happened, and she unexpectedly felt relief sweep over her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, never so happy to seem him as she was now.

"I need your help," Caleb answered, gasping for air after having run all over town in search of the red haired Guardian.

Will nodded in understanding as she pushed herself up off the ground. She brushed the grass off of her jeans, and gazed down at Matt, who was still sitting on the ground. Then she looked at Caleb before turning back to Matt. "I'm sorry. I have to go," she said as she bent down and gave Matt a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you later," she promised. Will turned to Caleb and nodded before turning and walking away without giving Matt the opportunity to say anything.

Caleb apologized for pulling her away from her date, but Will just shrugged in response. She wasn't that upset by it. In fact, she felt some relief…she had never broken up with anyone before, and she really wasn't looking forward to it. The longer she could put it off the better.

"What's going on?" she asked after they had walked about a block in silence. Will glanced at Caleb out of the corner of her eye; he seemed to be more on edge than usual.

"I don't know," Caleb answered with a sigh of frustration. "I…you're going to think this is so stupid. I had this dream…well, nightmare really…about a battle in Meridian and I just need to …" Caleb's sentence trailed off as he felt his face heat up in embarrassment. This had sounded a lot less dumb in his head.

"Prove to yourself that it really was just a dream?" Will finished for him, smiling slightly. "I don't think that's stupid." And she didn't. She knew how hard it was for him to be out of touch, and how much he hated it. Will met his eyes and he nodded, glad that she understood. "But we should probably get the others just in case," she continued.

Without warning Caleb stopped walking and Will took a few more steps before realizing that he was no longer beside her. Getting the other Guardians had never occurred to him. What if he was wrong? What if it had just been a dream? If he made Cornelia go to Meridian and there wasn't anything wrong she would never forgive him; and he didn't think their relationship would survive the additional strain. Will had stopped and was now staring at him.

"Do we have to take the others?" Caleb asked after another moment. "It's just…what if I'm worried about nothing and it was just a dream?"

Will sighed and watched the people wandering around them. "So what do you want to do?" she asked, shrugging. She understood why he didn't want to get the others, but she didn't think going to Meridian alone was such a good idea.

Caleb shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight nervously as he thought about what he wanted them to do for a couple of minutes. "How about this?" he finally said. "You open a portal, we go through, check things out, and we're back before anyone knows we've gone."

Will contemplated his suggestion as she shoved her hand in her pocket, and wrapped it around the Heart. "Are you sure that's a good idea? What if there really is something wrong?"

"If there is then we'll come back for the others."

Will met Caleb's eyes again. He was really afraid that something was seriously wrong. This was a bad idea… She knew she should argue with him; she should insist that they bring the other Guardians. But she was afraid that if she that he would just find a portal and go on his own. That would be even worse.

She finally nodded in agreement, and led Caleb into an alley before pulling out the Heart of Candracar. She held it over her head and changed herself into her Guardian form. After looking herself over, she held the Heart in front of her, opening a portal to Meridian.

Caleb watched the blue sphere pulsing with electricity and felt of wave of excitement sweep over him. He loved this part. Caleb glanced at Will with a big grin on his face, before walking through the portal. Will grinned back and followed him through; then she turned and closed the portal behind them. Caleb scanned the area around them, looking for landmarks in order to get his bearings. A minute later he pointed and began walking towards the village. Will fluttered her wings and flew a few feet above him.

As they approached the village they began to hear the sounds of a battle. Will flew higher and told Caleb what was happening: the rebels were fighting with Phobos' soldiers…and the rebels were highly out numbered. As soon as Caleb was able to see it he ran to join the fight.

"Caleb!" Will called as he ran onto the battleground. What was he doing? What happened to the plan to get the other Guardians? He wasn't supposed to join in! She flew higher and watched in stunned disbelief as he got further away from her. If Caleb survived this fight she was going to kill him. Well, she was going to get the others; there were too many of them to fight alone. She pulled the Heart back out and prepared to open another portal, but just as she was about to she saw two soldiers closing in on Caleb. She flew closer to them and yelled to get Caleb's attention before focusing her power, and firing a couple of pink energy beams at the soldiers. They went down and Caleb shot her a grateful look before hurrying away from them, going deeper in the fray. She shook her head and continued fighting off soldiers in order to help the rebels, abandoning the idea of going for help.

Out of nowhere the reptilian Cedric appeared in the center of the battlefield. He must have been in his human form before now because she hadn't noticed him…and he was kind of hard to miss. Cedric roared as he grew in size, and Will immediately began surveying the ground looking for Caleb. She and Cedric spotted him at the same time, and both rushed towards him. Unfortunately, Cedric reached him first.

"Caleb!" she screamed as Cedric grabbed him with his tail, and began flying faster.

The evil creature lifted Caleb off the ground, and wrapped his serpentine body around the rebel leader. Phobos would be pleased; the rebel leader was quite the prize, Cedric thought. He smiled to himself and started to slither away dragging the captured rebel behind him. Then something flying caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, and he turned towards it. It was the red haired Guardian; the one who controlled the Heart! He quickly scanned the area, but didn't see any signs of the other Guardians. She was getting closer, and realized she must be coming after the rebel leader. Cedric turned a calculating eye to the rebel leader; he was sure that Phobos would much rather have the Guardian who controlled the Heart of Candracar than a rebel. And was he sure to be greatly rewarded for capturing a Guardian.

With another smile Cedric raised his tail and threw Caleb as hard as he could. Caleb slammed to the ground with a groan, and raised his head slightly only to discover that he was now on the fringe of the fight. At the sound of Will's scream he pushed himself up off the ground and watched in dismay as Cedric grabbed her from behind and coiled himself around her.

"No! Will!" Caleb cried as he pushed himself up completely. She screamed again as the coils tightened around her and he lost sight of her. With another groan he ran towards them, pulling an abandoned sword out of a body as he ran.

Will screamed within the cocoon Cedric had created with his body. She pounded against him with her fists as he slowly smothered her. This isn't working, she thought as the space around her got smaller and smaller. Will took a few deep breaths and forced herself to relax. She reached inside herself for her power and released it imagining a shield of energy around her. She slowly pushed it away, making the shield larger and the coils around her loosened.

Caleb stopped running when he saw the pink light emanating from in between Cedric's coils. He stood in stunned silence, watching as the coils loosened around her, and realized that Will must be using her power to fight back. He could see Cedric's struggle to push against Will's energy field, and Caleb fought his way through the others fighting to get to her.

But as he got closer the pink light began to fade. She was getting weaker and he still wasn't close enough to help her. The light faded completely and Cedric tightened around her again. Then in a moment of sheer terror Caleb did the only thing he could think of to help her; he threw the sword at Cedric and the blade hit home in the beast. Cedric roared in pain and released Will, dropping her on the ground.

Caleb ran towards her still body lying on the ground. Her eyes were open and she was breathing heavily. "Will?" Caleb said anxiously. "Can you move? We have to get out of here." He couldn't remember ever feeling as relieved as he did when she turned her head to look at him, and raised her hand towards him. Caleb grabbed her arm, wrapping it around his shoulders, and wrapped his other arm around her waist pulling her to her feet. He ran for safety half-carrying, half-dragging Will with him, with the other surviving rebels following.

When they had gotten a safe distance away Caleb stopped to catch his breath. Will started to fall down, but he tightened his arm around her waist holding her up. Then he really looked at her for the first time. He had never seen her so pale. Weak and exhausted, she was having a difficult time staying on her feet.

"Can you open a portal?" Caleb asked.

Will pulled out the Heart of Candracar and held it in front of her as she focused her power on opening a portal. Caleb and the other rebels watched the open air in front of them expectantly…but nothing happened. Will lowered her arm. "I can't," she said, fighting for every breath.

Okay, she was really scaring him, he thought. Now what were they going to do? "We have to hide," Caleb stated as he turned to face the other rebels. "We need to get to the Infinite City. It's the only place safe enough."

The rebels looked at their leader and nodded in agreement. Caleb adjusted his hold on Will, and they had only taken a couple of steps when Will's legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground. Caleb immediately kneeled down beside her, concern evident on his face.

"I can't do it," Will whispered weakly. She met Caleb's eyes, and he was surprised to find tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Caleb reached up and brushed some hair out of her eyes. "No, I'm sorry," he apologized quietly. "It's my fault."

At that moment Aldarn, Caleb's best friend, kneeled next to them with a worried expression. "What's wrong? Is she all right?" he asked quietly.

"I think she drained her power fighting off Cedric. She can't open a portal, so we need to get somewhere safe," Caleb explained. Aldarn nodded and stood to explain to the other rebels.

Caleb returned his attention to Will. She obviously couldn't walk, and they would have to walk some distance. And if she couldn't walk, then he doubted that she could fly. He would have to carry her.

"Wrap your arms around my neck," Caleb suggested as he grabbed her hands. She did so as he wrapped one arm around her back, and the other under her knees lifting her off the ground. Will closed her eyes and buried her face in his neck, and it wasn't long before she slipped into unconsciousness.

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Caleb entered the small cave within the Infinite City that served as his bedroom when he was in Meridian, and gently laid Will on the straw mattress on the floor and covered her with a blanket. After making sure she was comfortable he turned to face Aldarn, who had followed him.

"Now what?" Aldarn asked.

Now what? That was a good question. He glanced at Will in his bed. She had been in and out of consciousness, and was currently out. Caleb needed a plan. He needed…the other Guardians. He needed a portal. "I need you to find the passling, Blunk," Caleb stated quietly.

"Why?"

Caleb glanced back over at Will. "Because he can find us a portal."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed. I honestly have no idea where this story is going, but it won't leave me alone, so we'll see.

Part 2

It had been over an hour and Will hadn't woken up yet; it was the longest she had been unconscious. Caleb was getting more and more worried, and was surprised he hadn't paced a hole in the floor. With a groan of frustration he sat on the floor next to the bed, and watched her sleep for a few minutes before leaning his head against the wall behind him and looking up at the ceiling. "Wake up, Will," he pleaded.

Soon Aldarn returned and told Caleb where Blunk was waiting for him. "What are you going to do, Caleb?" he asked curiously.

"I'm going to have him find us a portal. Maybe if I can get her back to Earth and the other Guardians…" Caleb shrugged as he grabbed his coat off the ground and put it on. The truth was he wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do. All he knew was that he needed to help her somehow, and he didn't feel like he could do that here.

"Caleb…" Will called weakly from the bed.

Caleb turned and rushed to her side; he hadn't realized that she had woken up. "Will? Are you all right?"

"We can't tell the others," she whispered.

Caleb shook his head and sat next to her on the bed. She must be delirious, he thought. "What? Will, we need their help."

Will shook her head slowly. "They can't do anything. I can't transform them…or myself. They aren't strong enough in human form."

Caleb looked away from her and rubbed his eyes, realizing that she was right. They couldn't come here in their human forms…or they shouldn't anyway. They would be sitting ducks for Phobos and his goons. And they couldn't easily hide Will in her Guardian form on Earth. He turned back to her meeting her eyes, which were pleading with him not to tell the others what happened.

"All right," he finally whispered. "I'll think of something."

Will nodded and smiled weakly before closing her eyes again. Caleb watched for a few minutes until her breathing evened out and he knew she was asleep again. He found her hand in the blankets and gently squeezed it before standing back up and facing Aldarn.

"Stay with her," he ordered. "I won't be gone long." Aldarn nodded in agreement and watched as Caleb left, before settling himself on the floor where he could see the Guardian leader.

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Caleb returned two hours later, and Will was still asleep. After sending his friend off to bed he settled down on the ground next to the bed and thought about the day they had had, and what he had just done. Instead of sending Blunk to Earth to get the girls, he had sent him with a message: they were fine, but they needed to hide out for a few days, and they would need to cover for Will. He just hoped they believed that story.

He glanced over at Will and watched her sleep for a few minutes, reaching out and taking her hand again. After a while he drifted off to sleep, too. He hadn't been asleep long, when Will calling his name awakened him.

"Hey," Caleb greeted quietly as he stiffly moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Apparently, sleeping with his back against the rock wall was not the best idea, not to mention the fact that he had been thrown across a battlefield earlier.

"Hey," she replied, smiling weakly. "Did you see Blunk?"

"Yeah, I told him to find Cornelia and tell her that we had to hide out here for a few days. I didn't think Irma or the others would believe that story coming from Blunk," he explained. "Hopefully, she'll be convincing."

"Not to mention the bonus points you'll get for sending him to your girlfriend, and showing her that you're thinking about her," Will added, smiling.

"That, too." Caleb grinned and thought that he needed all the bonus points he could get. Although he didn't think that was going to make a big difference for too much longer. He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear away his thoughts. Now was not the time to think about that.

He looked back down at Will, realizing that her hand was still in his…and that it felt good. "Are you okay?" Caleb asked as she started shivering.

"Cold," Will responded, her teeth chattering. What was wrong with her? she wondered. She hadn't been cold a minute ago, but now she was freezing. Then she rearranged the blanket that was covering her in an attempt to get warm.

Caleb quickly released her hand and stood, offering to build a fire. Just as he started piling wood in the fire pit in the corner he heard her gasp, and turned to see Will surrounded by a pink aura.

"What the…" he whispered, standing up. She slowly floated off the bed, stopping about shoulder level with him. The pink light began pulsing in time with her heartbeat, which he could hear echoing through the cave. Caleb walked over, reached out to her, and received a large shock. He hastily pulled his hand back and stared in amazement as the light faded and she was gently lowered back to the bed.

When the light was completely gone he rushed to her side only to discover that she was unconscious again. Caleb checked her pulse and was pleased to see that it was stronger than it had been earlier, and she wasn't so deathly pale anymore. But the shivering had started again.

He grabbed the blanket that had fallen to the ground when she had floated off the bed and covered her again. Then he ran to the trunk in the corner that held his clothes and pulled out another blanket before returning to building a fire. Once he had a good blaze going he returned to Will's side, watching as she continued to shake, hoping that it would stop soon.

Caleb wasn't sure how long he just sat there holding her hand and watching her, thinking about how much he hated this. Then, for some unknown reason the memory of the first time they met popped into his mind. She had been so strong…so independent…and now…now she was lying unconscious and shivering uncontrollably.

This was his fault. If he hadn't insisted that they didn't need the other Guardians then this wouldn't have happened. The others would have been able to help and she wouldn't have drained her powers fighting off Cedric. He would never forgive himself if she wasn't okay, and the more she slept the more scared he became.

And what was that light that had surrounded her? It looked like it had been coming from the Heart, but was it helping her or harming her? And why was she so cold all of a sudden? Three blankets covered her and there was a fire burning, but she was still shivering. As Will continued to shake he did the only other thing he could think of to warm her up. He removed his shoes before pulling back the covers and climbing into the bed next to her; then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

Caleb breathed a sigh of relief when a few minutes later Will finally stopped shivering, and shortly after that he relaxed enough to drift off to sleep as well.

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When Caleb woke up the next day it took him a minute to figure out why he couldn't move his arm. It wasn't until he opened his eyes and saw Will's red hair that it all came flooding back to him…the nightmare, the battle, Cedric, and Will… He shifted his position and realized that Will was lying on his arm. No wonder he couldn't move. He gently moved her and pulled his arm out and then sat up in the bed, thinking about the previous day's events.

Will stirred and slowly woke up feeling relaxed and refreshed. She looked around the room in confusion, unsure of where she was before she remembered everything that had happened.

Caleb felt her move and looked down at her as she tried to figure out where she was. "Morning," he greeted.

Will rolled over and smiled as she stretched. "Morning."

"How are you feeling?" Caleb asked quietly as he moved out from under the covers.

"Better," she replied as she glanced at the spot he had just vacated.

Caleb saw her glance, and blushed as he looked away from her. "Um…I…you were shivering and I didn't know how else to get you to stop. The blankets and fire didn't seem to be enough," he said, feeling the need to explain why they had been sleeping in the same bed.

Will nodded in understanding. "Thank you," she said quietly. Actually, she had liked waking up beside him. She had felt safe…and comfortable.

They spent the rest of the day resting, allowing Will to regain her strength, and talking. They discussed what had happened the day before and Caleb had repeatedly apologized for not bringing the other Guardians, and joining in on the fight. He also asked her about the pink light that had surrounded her when she had been cold. As far as either of them had been able to figure out, the Heart of Candracar had been healing her…but they weren't really sure. They had talked about anything and everything, and although they had known each other for nearly two years, both were surprised by how much they hadn't known.

At the end of the day Caleb offered to sleep on the floor, but Will wouldn't allow it; she felt bad about taking his bed. Both slept in the bed again, and neither could remember having a better night's sleep. The next morning Will decided that she felt well enough to try using her powers. So Caleb led her to a large open cavern that had once been a meeting area within the Infinite City, but was now abandoned.

Will fluttered her wings experimentally and gently floated off the floor, and soon rose as high as the ceiling. Then she flew in circles around the cavern while Caleb leaned against the wall watching her.

After a while, Will floated down and hovered above him, grinning mischievously. "You wanna fly?"

Caleb shook his head, laughing. "Not particularly." Actually, he really didn't want to fly. Even after nearly two years of flying with the girls he still didn't like it. He stepped away from the wall and stood in the center of the cavern, smiling as Will began flying in circles around him, rising higher with each loop. Was it his imagination or was she flying a lot better than she usually did?

Then without warning a voice yelled Caleb's name, echoing throughout the cave, and startling Will so much that her wings stopped and she fell from the air. Luckily, Caleb caught her with one arm wrapped around her back and the other under her knees before she hit the ground. Will's arms wrapped around his neck, and all at once she was overcome by a sense of déjà vu, and then started laughing as she remembered the first time they met. He had caught her and stopped her from falling then, too.

"Haven't we done this before?" Will asked still laughing.

"The oubliette," Caleb answered, nodding as he relived the same memory. She was the first Guardian he had met, and at the time he hadn't realized how much that was going to change his life.

Will remembered Caleb attempting to throw Blunk out of the hole, and that made her laugh harder. When throwing Blunk hadn't worked he had insisted that if she stood on his shoulders, and Blunk stood on hers they would be able to get out of the hole.

"What's so funny?" Caleb, confused by her reaction, asked. He didn't recall being trapped at the bottom of the oubliette being that funny. Shaking his head, he tightened his arms around Will, holding her closer. "Still a short read head with attitude," he muttered under his breath.

For some reason that sobered her up, and she stopped laughing. Her eyes met his and she wondered how she had never noticed how green his eyes were before. Their eyes held on each other as she gently fingered the hair at the base of his neck. Caleb's heart started to race when he felt her hand in his hair, and his mouth suddenly seemed extremely dry.

"Hey, I'm a Guardian of the Veil, buddy. You're just some guy at the bottom of a hole," she whispered, repeating her words from their first meeting.

Caleb smiled as he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Had it gotten hot in there? he wondered. Then, as if in slow motion they moved towards each other. Just as their lips were about to touch, they heard the same voice yelling Caleb's name again. This time he was able to identify the voice as Vathek's, another rebel, and he was close. They immediately separated, and Caleb set Will down before taking a few steps away from her. What had just happened? He had almost kissed Will!

Moments later Vathek entered the cavern, and looked at the pair suspiciously. They were standing on opposite sides of the room, very obviously avoiding looking at each other. Of course Aldarn and some of the others had told him what had happened. Caleb and Will seemed anxious, but with everything that had happened he guessed that made sense. Vathek shook his head, deciding he was imagining things, and told Caleb that Blunk had been seen in the village…alone.

Caleb shot a glance at Will, hoping that meant the girls had bought his story. After delivering the message Vathek turned and left them alone again in an awkward silence.

"Um…" Will started nervously. He was looking at her again, and for some reason she was having a hard time thinking straight. Eventually the reason they had found this cave returned to her mind. "So, flying's good. Um…what else should I try?"

Caleb shook his head to clear away the cobwebs. At that particular moment he was having difficulty with his thoughts as well. The only thought running through his mind was how good…how right she had felt in his arms…. and how that wasn't a good thing. "Um…how about that energy beam thing?" he finally suggested.

Will nodded and scanned the area for a target, spotting a large boulder in the corner. Caleb moved to stand behind her as she held her right arm straight out in front of her, concentrating and then releasing her power creating a pink bolt of energy. The beam destroyed the boulder, and then, unexpectedly, bounced off the wall behind it. Will rapidly dove out of the way, but unfortunately, Caleb didn't see it coming and was hit in the stomach.

Will stared at the shattered boulder in disbelief for a minute from her place on the ground before noticing that Caleb was doubled over in pain. "Are you okay?" she asked, hastily getting back on her feet.

"I think so," Caleb answered, groaning.

"Let me see." She pulled the bottom of his shirt up and winced at the sight of the red welt on his stomach. She gently fingered the rapidly forming bruise, causing him to hiss in pain. She glanced at the remains of the boulder, and then back at Caleb's stomach. "I'm really sorry," she apologized. That had never happened before. She had broken things apart, but she had never completely destroyed something. And the beam had certainly never ricocheted like that before…she could have really hurt him.

"Well, that's never happened before," Will stated, surprisingly calm. She looked at Caleb, who was staring at the rock. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Caleb turned back to her, meeting her eyes, and nodded. He smiled slightly to reassure her, and she released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Suddenly, Caleb was very much aware that her hand was still resting against his stomach, and his heart started beating a little faster. What was going on? It was Will…just Will. Okay, he thought, she would never be "just Will." But why was an innocent touch making it so hard for him to breathe? And why had they almost kissed earlier?

He raised his hand and wrapped it around hers. He had intended to push her hand away, but instead he found himself intertwining his fingers with her, and lowered their joined hands to his side.

Will's eyes left his, and looked at their joined hands…they seemed to fit together so well. She reached over and took his free hand in hers before meeting Caleb's eyes again. Their hands together seemed so right to her, and that bothered her. She had a boyfriend. Sure, she wanted to break up with him, but… Caleb squeezed her hands gently, and every thought flew out of her head as he slowly leaned towards her until their lips met.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Will and Caleb's lips moved slowly…gently against each other's. Without breaking the kiss, Caleb untangled their fingers and wrapped his arms around Will's waist, pulling her against him, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Moments later Will returned to her senses and pulled away from him. She raised her hand to her mouth, a look of panic on her face. What were they doing? Not only did Will have a boyfriend (for now, anyway), but Caleb was dating Cornelia, one of her best friends.

That thought occurred to Caleb at the same time, and he looked away from Will, attempting to catch his breath and slow his racing heart. When he heard footsteps he turned to see Will running out of the cavern. He walked across the cave and slid to the floor with his back against the wall.

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Will entered the room she was sharing with Caleb and sat on the bed crying. She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She had just done the one thing she never thought she'd do: she had cheated on Matt. Even worse, she had cheated with someone else's boyfriend…and she had liked it… And she wanted to do it again…

Will wiped away some tears, smiling as she remembered the way Caleb's lips felt against hers; kissing Matt had never felt like that. And the way their hands had fit together had felt…right. What was going on? Had she always felt this way about Caleb and just never realized it? Had he? Had their current situation triggered the change in their feelings? Was everything that was happening just a stress reaction?

Will wiped away a few more tears and sighed, wishing she knew the answers. She was so confused…

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Caleb sat hunched over with his head in his hands. What had he just done? Yes, he and Cornelia were having problems, but that didn't change the fact that he had kissed someone else…that he had kissed Will. He had like kissing Will…he wanted to kiss her again.

Will's image popped into his mind, and he forced himself to think about Cornelia, which worked for about 30 seconds. Then the image slowly changed back into Will. He started to try to change the image back into Cornelia, when he realized that it probably wasn't a good thing that he had to force himself to think about his girlfriend. Will returned to his mind. She really was something, he thought, so strong…so smart…so…beautiful… What was he going to do?

Hours passed before Caleb headed back to his room, and he wasn't surprised to see that Will was already asleep. He stood over her debating whether or not he should sleep on the floor. The last thing he wanted to do was sleep on the cold hard stone floor, and since Will was lying on one side of the bed with her back to him he decided to sleep in the bed, too.

Caleb toed off his shoes, pulled back the covers and gently slid into the bed, careful not to touch or jostle Will. Based on the way she ran away earlier he had a feeling that if he woke her up she would kick him out. After settling himself he glanced over at Will's back and sighed, then drifted off to sleep.

At some point during the night Caleb rolled onto his side and wrapped his arm around her waist. Will laid awake listening to Caleb's slow even breathing, trying not to think about the feel of his arm around her waist or his breath on her neck. She had woken up when she felt him climb into bed beside her, and she probably should have insisted that one of them sleep someplace else, but she couldn't. She like the way it felt to have him beside her.

Will sighed, wishing she could fall asleep. As comfortable as she was with Caleb next to her, she just couldn't seem to relax enough to sleep. She shifted a little, trying to find a more comfortable position, but after a few more minutes she gently slid out from under his arm. Will walked across the room and stood in front of a mirror fragment sitting on a shelf, staring at her reflection.

As she slowly fluttered her wings it occurred to her that this was the longest she had ever stayed in her Guardian form. Her Guardian form… As a Guardian she appeared older, and was more…developed. Will glanced over at Caleb in the bed and wondered if that was part of the reason for the change in the way Caleb looked at her. She turned back to her reflection, and realized she could find out by pulling out the Heart of Candracar and changing back into her human form. As she looked down at her jeans and t-shirt she wished that she had been wearing something nicer.

"Will?" Caleb called sleepily. He raised his head from the pillow and glanced over at her. "What are you doing?"

Will looked over at him, deciding she couldn't tell him the truth about why she had changed form. "Uh…the wings are kind of uncomfortable to sleep with," she finally answered. Well, that was partially true; the wings were uncomfortable to sleep in.

"I always wondered about that," he replied yawning. "Come back to bed."

Will glanced back at her reflection one last time before returning to the bed, and this time she was able to fall asleep.

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When Will woke up the next morning Caleb was gone. She pushed back the covers and glanced around Caleb's bedroom. Initially she had been surprised by the lack of personal items in the room, but then it had occurred to her that this was only half of his stuff. The other half was on Earth.

After a while she got up, wondering where he was. Will headed into the main gallery looking for him, and smiled at the sight in front of her. All the rebels were gathered around Caleb, and he was talking animatedly. Will crossed her arms and leaned against a column as he began pointing and drawing lines on a map that sat on a table in front of him.

Will had no idea how long she watched Caleb being the leader of the rebellion; he really was very good at it. Caleb stopped talking when he noticed Will watching him. He caught her eye and smiled at her before returning his attention to the battle plans. Eventually, he took a break and headed over to her.

After making plans to return to Earth that afternoon, Caleb went back to his battle plans, and Will returned to the cave where she had practiced using her powers the day before. She changed back into her Guardian form and eyed the boulder she had destroyed. She had used her full power on the boulder, but she wondered if it was possible to reduce the strength of her energy beams.

Will turned her attention to another boulder. Concentrating on reducing her power, she raised her arm and fired an energy beam. This boulder shattered as well, but at least the beam didn't bounce back this time.

Will turned towards another boulder, and tried to reduce her power level even more. This time she succeeded, and then proceeded to fire energy beams at boulders all around the cave. She turned in a circle looking for more boulders, and stopped when she saw Caleb leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, an amused smile on his face.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously, trying not to laugh.

"Um…" Will, who hadn't realized she had floated up a few feet, lowered herself to the ground. She felt her face heat up in embarrassment; she was pretty sure she had been making sound effects, and possibly doing a little dance in mid-air. "I…uh…I was just practicing…so I won't have any more beams bouncing back."

"And the little dance?" Caleb asked, now openly laughing.

Will's face got even redder, and she covered her face with her hands. Caleb stepped closer to her and pulled her hands away from her face. Their eyes locked, causing Caleb to stop laughing. Will looked down at their joined hands.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

"Between us?" Caleb asked just as quietly. "I don't know."

Will ran her thumbs along his and looked back up to meet his eyes. She loved looking into his eyes, and the way his hands felt around hers, but what they were doing was wrong. There were too many people who would get hurt. "I don't know either, but…we can't do this. You're with Cornelia," she reminded him.

"And you're with Matt," he whispered.

"Maybe it's nothing anyway." Will pulled her hands out of his and stepped away. "Maybe it's just the stress of the situation. Once we're not together all the time it will go away."

Caleb nodded. "Maybe." He wasn't sure that was what he wanted, but she was right. It just wasn't the two of them; there were other people involved.

"We should probably get going," Will said after a few minutes of silence.

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Immediately after entering the restaurant Cornelia threw herself at Caleb, wrapping her arms around his neck. Caleb automatically wrapped his arms around her waist, but it was Will he was looking at. The others quickly surrounded them, asking questions about what had happened.

They avoided the girls' questions until they were sitting at a table with Will and Hay-Lin on one side, Caleb and Cornelia on the other, and Irma and Taranee sitting on the ends. Will immediately asked what they had told her mother and Matt hoping to distract them.

"We told your mom that we were all staying at Taranee's while her parents were out of town," Hay-Lin answered.

"And we told Matt that you went to visit family out of town," Taranee continued.

Irma looked at Caleb and Will curiously. "So, what happened?"

"Uh…we got trapped in the Infinite City," Caleb answered. Before they had left, both had decided not to tell them what had really happened. There was no need to worry them, and some of it they couldn't and didn't want to explain. In fact, a lot of it they wanted to pretend never happened.

"Did you know you can't a portal down there?" Will asked, and the others shook their heads. "Well, you can't." A fact they had discovered when they tried to leave that afternoon. "So, we had to wait until we could leave the City."

They all thought about that for a moment, and seemed to buy that story, except for Irma. She was the one they had been worried about.

"Then how'd you get a message to Blunk?"

Caleb glanced at Will unsure of how to answer. When they had thought up that story, they had forgotten to factor in Blunk. "A series of messages passed through various rebels," Caleb answered vaguely.

"But how-" Irma started.

"Irma!" Cornelia interrupted. "They just got back. I'm sure that they're tired, and don't really need an inquisition right now." Cornelia scooted a little closer to Caleb, and wrapped her arm around his.

Will saw that action, and it upset her more than she had expected. She needed to get out of there. "I think I'm going to head home. Talk to Mom, and hope that I'm not grounded for life." She stood and headed for the door, and glanced back at Caleb, meeting his eyes, and he tried to subtly remove his arm from Cornelia's grasp. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." She turned and left, grateful to be away from Caleb and Cornelia.

They were home, maybe now things would get back to normal. She couldn't wait to sleep in her own bed, and hopefully by tomorrow she would have her feelings under control again. Unfortunately, that night the nightmares began.

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Author's Note: I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter. I knew where I wanted to go, but I was having a difficult time getting there. Therefore, this chapter may be rewritten sometime when I've had a chance to figure it out. It shouldn't affect the rest of the story though, so it might stay as is. We'll see. Thanks to all those who review. I really appreciate all your great comments.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

Will reached out to grab Caleb's hands as some unseen force yanked him away from her. Behind him she could see Phobos pulling Caleb towards him. She tried to follow, but couldn't seem to make her feet move…or her wings. Will raised her hand to fire an energy bolt at Phobos but nothing happened. Phobos turned to her with an evil smile as he jerked Caleb through the air like a puppet on an invisible string.

"Caleb!" Will screamed as Phobos released him and he went flying through the air. Caleb slammed to the ground with a thud a few feet from Will, but she still couldn't reach him. Caleb turned his head toward her and held out his hand. Tears were flowing freely down her face as she reached her hand out to him…and hit a wall…

A startled Will quickly sat up in bed, gasping for breath. She brought her hand up to her face to wipe away the tears and looked around her dark bedroom. It had been a dream… She reached over to turn on the lamp on the nightstand, and noticed that it was only two o'clock in the morning; at least she had gotten some sleep. Will untangled the sheet that had wrapped itself around her legs, and climbed out of the bed. She quietly made her way to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face before staring at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Her already fair skin looked even paler. The dark circles under her eyes were really starting to stand out, and her eyes were looking dull and lifeless.

With a sigh Will quietly returned to her bedroom, doing her best not to wake her mom. She shut the door behind her and then sat at her desk, pulling a small notebook out of a drawer. Then she flipped to an empty page and wrote down the details of her dream. After she was finished she turned back to the front of the notebook, counting the entries in her dream journal. Seven dreams…seven dreams in seven days, and while the details varied the gist was always the same: she had to watch helplessly as either Phobos or Cedric killed Caleb.

It had been seven days since Will and Caleb had returned to Earth, and seven days since she had slept through the night. Caleb wasn't sleeping either, she was sure of it. Although she was probably the only one who had noticed, as he seemed to be better at hiding it than she was. Irma seemed to be the only to notice how tired she was.

Caleb…they had spent the past week avoiding being alone together, so far successfully. She had hoped that her feelings for him would go away, but they hadn't. So now she was just ignoring it.

Will sighed again as she put her dream journal away. With another glance at the clock she reached over to her backpack and pulled out her history book. That's enough sleep for tonight, she thought to herself, might as well study. Thank God it's Friday.

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That afternoon the Guardians and Caleb met at the Lin's restaurant. Caleb had been trying to get them to discuss their next trip to Meridian, and their next attempt to save Elyon. As usual, Cornelia changed the subject as soon as Elyon was mentioned, but the others changed the subject back. Will just sat quietly, avoiding looking at Caleb and Cornelia sitting next to each other. Seeing them together bothered her more than she liked, especially since Cornelia seemed a lot more affectionate to him than she had been for months. Will just couldn't get the feel of his lips on hers out of her mind; and it didn't help that every time she glanced at him she would discover that he was watching her.

Caleb gently pulled his arm out of Cornelia's grasp as he tried to catch Will's eye, but she was doing her best to avoid him. He was worried about her; he could tell she wasn't sleeping, but then he wasn't either…

"Hey!" Hay-Lin exclaimed. "I think we should go practice."

The others looked at each other, and Will glanced up meeting Caleb's eyes.

"Practice?" Taranee asked.

"Yeah, we haven't done that in a while. Maybe it'll give us some new ideas," Hay-Lin explained. "Right now we just seem to going around in circles."

Cornelia, Irma, Taranee and Hay-Lin discussed it for a few minutes before deciding that it couldn't hurt. Will didn't particularly want to; she was afraid that in her sleep deprived state she wouldn't be able to control the power level of her energy beams, but she was too tired to argue. They gathered their belongings and headed to the secluded area near the river where they typically practiced. As they walked the exhausted Will lagged behind, and after a while Caleb slowed down until he was walking beside her, allowing the gap between them and the others to widen.

"You're not sleeping, are you?" he quietly asked, and Will simply shook her head. "Me either. Nightmares?"

Will glanced at him and nodded. "You, too?"

Caleb shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, and slowed his pace a little more, allowing more space between them and the girls. "I keep seeing you being smothered by Cedric. He's killing you and I can't do anything to help. All I can do is stand and watch," he answered quietly.

Will looked over at him sadly and met his eyes. "That sounds about right," she replied. "Except in mine, he's killing you."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Caleb opened his mouth to speak again. "Will…I…" he started.

"Hurry up, you slowpokes!" Hay-Lin yelled, interrupting Caleb.

Will smiled at him once more before catching up to the others.

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Practice that afternoon was uneventful…thankfully. Will managed to get through it without destroying anything, of course that was because she hadn't tried. She knew that she was tired enough that she wouldn't be able to control it. Will was also a lot more distracted by Caleb than she would've liked. Even though he pretended to be looking at other things she could feel his eyes on her. On the other hand, she was watching him just as much.

This whole ignoring how she felt about him wasn't working as well as she had hoped. She couldn't keep him out of her mind.

When practice was over the girls gathered their things and headed home as a group…except for Will. She hung back saying that she would see them tomorrow. Caleb wanted to stay and talk to her, but Cornelia grabbed his arm, and he didn't know how to get away without being suspicious.

"What's going on with Will?" Taranee asked curiously once they were about a block away from her.

Caleb glanced at Taranee out of the corner of his eye. Apparently her behavior hadn't gone as unnoticed as she had probably hoped.

"She said she couldn't sleep last night," Irma replied. "And she broke up with Matt this morning," she added as she looked at the others.

"What?" Taranee asked in disbelief, and stopped walking.

Cornelia released Caleb's arm and stepped closer to the others, while Caleb stood in silent shock. Will had broken up with Matt? Because of him? Maybe that meant…

"You're kidding!" Cornelia exclaimed. "Why?"

Irma shrugged. "She just said it was something she had to do."

The girls gathered around Irma wanting to know all the details. They were so busy asking questions that they didn't notice Caleb turn and head back towards Will.

When reached her she was sitting on the ground, her back against the wall with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her eyes were closed, but if her nightmares were as bad as his, then he doubted she was really asleep. She really was beautiful, he thought. Caleb stood over her watching for a minute before saying anything. "Hey," he finally said quietly.

Will opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Hi," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Caleb sat down next to her, and reached out to rest his hand on her knee, but pulled back. "Have you been sleeping at all?" he asked.

Will shrugged. "A couple of hours a night. What about you?"

Caleb rested his head against the wall and laughed slightly. "I would kill for a couple of hours of sleep." Between the nightmares and his anxiety over his feelings for Will he wasn't sleeping at all. He was quiet for a few minutes as he nervously played with a button on his coat. Will leaned her head back and closed her eyes again. This was the closest they had been to each other in a week, and the feel of her next to him was making his heart race. He turned his head to look at her. "You broke up with Matt?" he said, making it a question.

Will sighed and opened her eyes, but didn't raise her head. "Irma has a big mouth," she stated calmly.

"Why?" he asked. Will shrugged but still didn't look at him. "Because of me?"

"No," she answered quickly, but after a moment she continued. "Well, not completely. I've wanted to break up with him for a few weeks, but I couldn't." She shrugged again. "What happened with you just made it easier."

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to break up with him?" If he had known then maybe…

"Because it doesn't matter," Will answered, shaking her head. She turned and met his eyes. "It doesn't change anything." Though she wished it did, but Matt was only part of their problem, she thought.

Caleb pushed himself up from the ground and began pacing, agitated by her response. Her break up with Matt made a big difference. Without Matt the only thing keeping them apart was Cornelia. "It changes everything!" he exclaimed.

Will rapidly stood in front of him. "What does it change, Caleb?" she yelled. She met his eyes, seeing the pain flash through them, and instantly regretted yelling at him. "We still can't be together. You're still with Cornelia," she continued quietly.

"I'll break up with her."

"And tell her what? Even if you do break up with her how can we be together? She's one of my best friends, Caleb," Will replied, almost on the brink of tears. "How could I do that to her?"

Caleb walked away from her, taking a deep breath. Why did this have to be so hard? She was right, but…that didn't change the way he felt about her. After a few minutes he stepped over to her and gazed into her eyes. "I can't stop thinking about you, Will," he whispered. "I tried, but… Maybe the…situation brought our feelings to the surface…but they've always been there."

Will pulled her eyes away from his, and stared at the ground. "I know," she whispered. "What are we going to do?" She raised her eyes to meet his again.

Caleb reached out and took her hands as he stepped closer to her. "I don't know… But, it's always been you, Will. You were always the first one I thought about…the first one I worried about…the first one I went to when I needed help."

Will smiled at his words; that was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever said to her. She raised herself up on her toes, pressing her lips against his. Will released his hands and gently ran her hands up his arms to his shoulders. As she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, Caleb wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her against him.

Their lips moved slowly against each other, gently kissing as if they had all the time in the world. Caleb gently ran his tongue along her lower lip, and Will opened her mouth against his. After an unknown amount of time the kiss slowly ended and they separated, but kept their arms around each other.

"Wow," Will whispered.

Caleb grinned and nodded in agreement.

Will looked around them, surprised to discover that it was getting dark; they had been there a lot longer than either had thought. "We should probably get going," she suggested quietly. "Mom will kill me if I'm home late. We'll talk tomorrow…figure everything out."

Caleb nodded as he leaned down and quickly kissed her. "I'll walk you home," he offered.

Will shook her head, telling him that it wasn't necessary; joking that she could always blow something up if it bothered her.

Caleb laughed and released her. "I should probably go find Cornelia anyway. It's time for us to have a talk."

Will nodded and they headed in their separate directions. Neither one saw Irma hiding around the corner.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Once again thanks to all who reviewed. I really appreciate your comments. This chapter's a little short but I hit a good ending point. I've hit a bit of a writer's block, so it might take me longer to write the next chapter. I know where I want to go; it's just a matter of getting them there. Hope you enjoy!

Part 5

Cornelia, Hay Lin, and Taranee surrounded Irma, all of them asking questions at once. Unfortunately, she didn't really have any answers as to why Will had broken up with Matt. All she knew was that Will hadn't been happy with him for a while, and for the past week she had simply avoided him. And all Will would say was that it was something she had needed to do. When the others realized that Irma didn't know anything they gave up.

Cornelia was the first one to notice that Caleb was gone, but no one gave it any thought. He had a tendency to disappear when the girl talk started, and Cornelia remembered him mentioning something about looking for Blunk. It was starting to get dark, and the girls decided that it was time to head home…except for Irma. She decided to go and check on Will.

As Irma approached the area where they had practiced she was able to hear quiet voices, but was unable to make out the words. Then she heard Caleb yell, "It changes everything!" and she stopped just around the corner from the voices. Why had Caleb come back here? she wondered. Was he talking to Will? And if so, what changed everything?

"What does it change, Caleb?" she heard Will's voice yell in response. Well, that answered one of Irma's questions.

Their voices dropped, and Irma moved closer straining to hear their words, wishing she had Hay Lin's power to hear things far away. However, all she could make out was something about Cornelia and breaking up. Was Caleb planning to break up with Cornelia? Why were he and Will apparently arguing about it? What was going on? she wondered.

After a few minutes of silence Irma's curiosity got the better of her, and she poked her head around the corner…and couldn't believe what she was seeing. She immediately covered her mouth to stifle her gasp, and with eyes wide open in shock she quickly ducked back behind the corner. Will and Caleb were kissing! She stood in shocked disbelief while her mind raced.

What was she going to do? Should she step around the corner and confront Will and Caleb? Should she tell Cornelia what she had seen? Or pretend that she hadn't seen anything? Before Irma had the chance to decide anything Will and Caleb left the practice area, and headed in separate directions.

Irma took a couple of steps to follow Will, but then stopped. She still didn't know what she should do. Part of her thought that she should go tell Cornelia what she had seen, but the other part didn't want to be the one who told her that Caleb was cheating on her…with Will.

But maybe it hadn't been what she thought. Maybe there was a perfectly good explanation…although at the moment she couldn't think of what that explanation could be. With a sigh Irma decided to talk to Will first; maybe it wasn't what she thought… She hoped it wasn't what she thought…

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Caleb sat on his bed watching the clock as the minutes slowly ticked by. It was one o'clock in the morning and he had yet to fall asleep…although, to be fair, he hadn't really tried. Between his fear of the nightmares and his thoughts of Will he didn't think he could sleep anyway. Just thinking about her made his heart race. After glancing at the clock again he decided that he needed to get out of the basement. It felt like the walls were closing in on him.

Caleb dressed and grabbed his coat before prying open the basement window and climbing up onto the street. He wandered aimlessly around town for at least an hour before he found himself standing in front of Will's apartment building. There was only one light on in the entire building, and Caleb knew that it was Will's. He stared at the lone light for a few minutes wondering if she had slept at all. Then, before he realized what he was doing, Caleb found himself climbing the fire escape until he reached Will's window.

Caleb gazed at her through the closed window, and smiled at the sight of her sitting at her desk studying. After watching her for a few minutes he lightly tapped on the window, causing Will to look over at him in surprise. She set down her pen, and slowly walked across the room in her pink pajama pants and matching pink tank top. As she opened the window a grin spread across her face. Caleb grinned back as he climbed into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Will whispered as she glanced towards her bedroom door to make sure it was closed.

Caleb stepped closer to her and rested his hands on her waist. "I couldn't sleep…I couldn't stop thinking about you…"

Will sighed. "Did you sleep at all?" she asked quietly as she rested her hands on his arms.

Caleb simply shook his head in response. "What about you?"

"About an hour…then I had a nightmare." Will leaned forward resting her forehead against his chest, inhaling his scent…a scent that was uniquely him. Why had she never noticed how comforting it was just to be near him? she wondered. "Did you talk to Cornelia?" she mumbled against his chest.

Caleb shook his head and then realized that she couldn't see him. "When I got to her house no one was home. I waited around for a while, but…" his words trailed off as he shrugged. Will pulled back and met his eyes. "I'll talk to her tomorrow," he promised as he leaned down and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

Will raised herself up on her toes and gently pressed her lips against his. After a moment she lowered herself back to the ground. How had this happened? When had they reached the point where this had seemed so natural?

Caleb swayed a little and closed his eyes as if he was dizzy. "Are you all right?" Will asked concerned. She led him over to her bed, forcing him to sit down, and then sitting next to him.

"I'm all right. I'm just so tired," he replied, raising a hand to rub his eyes.

"Me, too," Will whispered in response.

Both were silent for a few minutes before Caleb spoke again. "I don't understand why the nightmares didn't start until after we were back on Earth. I mean…they didn't start until four days after Cedric…after…" Caleb turned his head to look at her, unsure of how to word it. He didn't want to say "until four days after you almost died." Reliving it in his dreams was bad enough, but talking about it was much harder.

Will nodded, understanding what he was trying to say. She had been wondering the same thing for the past couple of days, and thought she had found the answer. "I don't know for sure," she finally answered. "But…I think…on Meridian we were almost always together…and I felt…safe. Then we got back here and it was like going through withdrawal or something."

Caleb sighed thinking that what Will had said made sense. He leaned forward and rested his arms on his thighs. Will could see that he had passed the point of exhaustion, and wondered how no one else had noticed…especially Cornelia. She reached up and gently rubbed his neck as she smiled sadly.

"We need to sleep," she whispered.

Caleb raised his head, met her eyes, and nodded in agreement. Will stared at him for a few minutes, thoughtfully chewing on her bottom lip. They were both exhausted and desperately needed sleep. But, there was only one way she could think of to ensure they both slept. Without saying a work she stood and walked over to her desk, turning off the lamp. Then Will turned to face Caleb.

Caleb stood, confusion evident on his face. "What are you doing?"

Will smiled slightly and walked past him to the bed. She climbed into bed and scooted over against the wall. After she had situated herself she turned to look at Caleb, meeting his eyes.

"Are you coming to bed?" she quietly asked.

Caleb took a deep breath and nodded before taking his coat off and laying it over her desk chair. He bent down and took off his shoes and then climbed into bed next to Will. Within minutes both were asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

Hay Lin raised her hand to knock on Will's front door, but quickly stepped back when the door opened, surprising her before she had the chance to actually knock.

Hay Lin wasn't the only one surprised. Will's mother stopped at the sight of her daughter's friends on her doorstep. What were they doing here so early on a Saturday morning? she wondered. "Morning, girls," Mrs. Vandom greeted them and then asked the question running through her mind.

"We came to take Will out for breakfast," Hay Lin responded cheerfully. "You know, to cheer her up since she broke up with Matt."

Irma snorted as she leaned back against the wall across from the door, rolling her eyes. She didn't think Will needed cheering up; she had seemed fairly happy the evening before…with Caleb. Although she did think that Will needed a good talking to. Unfortunately, she hadn't had the chance to do that yet. Hay Lin had called her early that morning with her brilliant idea to cheer Will up. Irma had spent half an hour trying to change Hay Lin's mind, but had been unsuccessful. So…here they were.

"That sounds like a great idea," Mrs. Vandom replied. "But Will's still asleep." And she didn't want to wake her. As much as Will had tried to hide it, she knew her daughter wasn't sleeping well…if at all. On the other hand Will had been keeping to herself lately, and maybe it would be good for her to spend some time with her friends. "Okay, but don't push her if she wants to rest. She hasn't been sleeping very well lately." Mrs. Vandom glanced down at her watch, noting the time, and realized she was going to be late for work. She said goodbye to the girls and left as they entered the apartment.

Cornelia headed straight for Will's bedroom while Hay Lin and Taranee entered the living room, sitting on the couch, and Irma went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Irma leaned back against the kitchen counter reminding herself that she needed to act normally around Will, and pretend like she hadn't seen anything… It was going to be a long day. Moments later she heard a scream from Will's bedroom, and Irma set her glass down running towards the sound.

"How could you!" she heard Cornelia yell before she ran out of the room and down the hallway, pushing Irma out of the way. The front door slammed, and Irma glanced at Taranee and Hay Lin, who shared a confused look. Sadly, Irma had a horrible feeling that she knew what had upset Cornelia.

Bracing herself, Irma turned and entered Will's bedroom groaning at the sight before her. Her eyes swept over Will pulling clothes out of her closet and across the room before landing on Caleb sitting on the unmade bed, pulling on his shoes and socks. She stopped in the doorway and shook her head. "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do," Irma said imitating Ricky Ricardo. Will and Caleb both turned to look at her with faces red from embarrassment.

"We'll be waiting in the living room," Irma continued. "The story better be good, and it better start with what really happened when you went to Meridian last week." Because she definitely didn't believe their story about being trapped in the Infinite City, she thought as she turned her back on them and headed for the living room.

Once Irma was gone Will glanced at Caleb, who was now standing, meeting his eyes. At least they had been awake when Cornelia had entered the room, Will thought gratefully. She had woken up that morning with her head resting on Caleb's chest with his arm around her. The sound of Will's mom moving around had woken them up and Will had started to panic. Luckily, her mother hadn't opened the door to check on her, and Will wished she had thought to lock the door when she had asked Caleb to stay. Unfortunately, Caleb hadn't been able to untangle his legs from the sheets quickly enough when they heard someone approaching the bedroom door. Of course it had to be Cornelia. They had hoped to have a quiet morning to discuss their…situation and figure out what they wanted to do, and what they were going to tell everybody. So much for that plan…

"Let's just tell them what really happened," Will finally said quietly.

"Everything?" he asked just as quietly. Caleb sat back down on the bed, his eyes never leaving hers as she shrugged and slowly nodded. "I thought you didn't want them to know about it," he said, referring to the battle and her…injuries.

Will sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She didn't want them to know, but… "I just don't want to lie to them anymore."

"Okay," he replied, agreeing with her. He was tired of lying, too. Breaking eye contact, Caleb's eyes wandered around her room before settling on two framed pictures on her desk. One was of all the Guardians in their human form, although he knew that hidden behind it was another picture of them in their Guardian forms. The second photo was of him, Cornelia, Will, and Matt…but looking at that picture now it appeared that he and Will were the couple. He and Cornelia were holding hands, and so were Will and Matt, but when Taranee had taken the picture she told them to get closer so Caleb had wrapped an arm around Will's shoulders, and Will had leaned into him. Caleb's eyes focused on the image of Cornelia for a moment longer before turning back to Will. "Do you mind telling them on your own? I should go find Cornelia."

"What are you going to tell her?"

Caleb shrugged. "The truth," he finally said as he bent over and finished tying his shoes.

Will crossed her arms over her stomach silently watching him with a slight smile on her face. He really was just…beautiful, she thought as he finished with his shoes and ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to straighten it out. Caleb's eyes met hers and returning her smile, he waved his hand for her to come to him.

Will took the few steps across the room and stopped in front of him, standing between his legs. As he rested his hands on her hips, hers went to his shoulders. "What's wrong?" Caleb quietly asked.

Will shrugged. "You seem awfully calm about going to find Cornelia."

Now it was Caleb's turn to shrug. "The hard part's over," he said. "I've already decided what I want…I want you. Part of me has always wanted you," he explained. "Now I just need to go tell Cornelia that."

Will raised her hand gently resting it against his cheek. Caleb smiled and leaned into her hand as he wrapped his arms around her waist, lacing his fingers together at the small of her back pulling her closer. Will smiled again as she lowered her face to his, gently kissing him. Caleb lightly ran his tongue over her lower lip, and she opened her mouth against his allowing him to deepen the kiss. Caleb slowly stood without breaking the kiss. After a few minutes they slowly pulled apart, but kept their arms around each other, and Caleb lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers.

"I should go find Cornelia," Caleb finally whispered, not really wanting to leave Will yet.

"Good luck," she replied.

"Ahem."

They hastily pulled apart and turned to find Irma leaning in the doorway again. "Sometime today would be nice," she stated sarcastically.

Caleb rolled his eyes and glanced back at Will. "I'll talk to you later," he promised softly, leaning down to kiss her goodbye. Irma cleared her throat from the door again, and Caleb raised his head and glanced at her sheepishly. What had he been thinking kissing Will right in front of Irma? But kissing Will goodbye had felt like the natural thing to do. Instead he smiled awkwardly as he gently squeezed Will's arm before leaving the room.

Will's eyes followed Caleb, smiling, and then met Irma's, watching her for a minute. "You weren't surprised when you came in, were you?" Will asked calmly, realizing that Irma seemed more annoyed than surprised or upset.

Irma crossed her arms as she shook her head. "I saw you last night," she replied just as calmly. After a moment Irma turned, heading for the living room where Hay Lin and Taranee were waiting for them.

Will stared at the empty doorway for a minute thinking. Irma had seen them? Where? In the alley? Will had been sure that they were alone. She wondered how much Irma had seen and heard, both the previous evening and that morning. She shifted her attention to the still unmade bed, wondering how they had ended up here. After another moment, Will shook her head to clear away her thoughts, and quickly changed before following Irma into the living room.

Taranee and Hay Lin kept sharing looks of confusion, completely unsure of what was going on. First, Cornelia screamed and left, and then Caleb left, obviously attempting to avoid them. And what was Caleb doing here anyway? Now, Irma was storming into the room, followed by Will a few moments later, and neither appeared to be very happy.

"Okay," Irma started once they had settled themselves on the couch. "What really happened on Meridian? Because I don't believe that story about being trapped in the Infinite City."

Will sighed. "We did get trapped, but not the way we told you…"

00000000000000

"Cornelia!" Caleb yelled as he finally caught up with her, and even as he approached her he didn't think she was going to stop.

Cornelia slowed down, and without warning spun around to face him, her long blonde hair flying everywhere. "You lying, cheating-" she shrieked anger and hurt obvious in her voice.

"Just let me explain," he said interrupting her. "It's not-"

"Let me guess," Cornelia yelled, cutting him off. "It's not what it looks like?" she sarcastically asked. Caleb just stood there staring at her for a few minutes before Cornelia yelled at him again. "Say something!"

Caleb's mind raced as he tried to think of something…anything to say. He knew what he needed to say to her, but couldn't seem to find the words. How do you tell your girlfriend that somehow he had fallen in love with one of her best friends? Caleb stopped at his choice of words. Fallen in love? he thought to himself. Was he in love with Will? The thought that yes, he was popped instantly into his mind. Trying his best to conceal his smile, he glanced back up at Cornelia who was still seething.

Caleb finally shrugged and held out his arms helplessly. "It is what it looks like."

He stood in stunned silence for a minute, shocked that those had been the words to come out of his mouth. "I'm sorry," Caleb continued quietly. "I didn't…I didn't mean for this to happen."

Cornelia crossed her arms over her stomach regarding him coldly, and trying to decide which emotion was stronger at the moment: hurt or anger. "So…what? That's all you have to say?" she asked, shaking her head in confusion. "How long?"

"Just a few days, but…I think…I've…I've always loved Will," he stuttered, admitting how he felt for the first time out loud. Caleb shifted his weight nervously. "Are you happy?" he suddenly asked.

"Oh, I'm thrilled," she answered sarcastically giving him a death glare, as she started pacing.

"No, I don't mean right now. I mean…have you been happy…with me?"

Cornelia, puzzled by the question, opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure of how to answer.

Caleb wearily sat down on an empty bench, and glanced at her. "Because I'm not…I haven't been…and I don't think you've been happy with me for a long time," he said quietly, watching as she sat next to him. "Not that that makes what I did okay."

He was right, Cornelia thought. It had been months, maybe longer, since she had last really been happy. And if she was honest with herself she had known that he wasn't happy either. And although it wasn't his fault that she was unhappy she had been taking it out on him. In fact, she had been horrible to him, but she never thought he'd cheat on her.

"She's one of my best friends," Cornelia whispered, staring into space.

"I know," he whispered back. "I'm sorry.

Cornelia started thinking back, searching for some sign that this was going to happen… Any clue that Will and Caleb had been behaving differently towards each other. "How did this happen?" she finally asked, unable to think of anything.

Caleb took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Something happened last week…on Meridian…" he started, and then proceeded telling her everything that had happened while they were there. And when he was finished he finally glanced over at her. "When Will was unconscious, I would just sit there watching her, hoping she would wake up… And the only thought that kept running through my mind was that I didn't think I could live without her. I had never realized that I felt that way about her before," he explained quietly.

"You're in love with her?" Cornelia asked as she stared at her hands, although she already knew the answer.

Caleb simply nodded, not noticing that she wasn't looking at him, and then whispered, "yes."

"Are you the reason she broke up with Matt all of sudden?"

"Yes and no," he replied, thinking back to the conversation he and Will had had the previous evening. "She hasn't been happy with him for a while. She was tired of lying to him, but didn't really want to tell him the truth. Will said that what happened with me just made it easier to break up with him," Caleb quietly answered.

"Were you planning to break up with me, too?" Cornelia asked even though she knew the answer to that question, too.

"I went to your house last night, but no one was home."

Cornelia took a deep breath in an attempt to suppress the tears that were threatening to fall. She couldn't believe this was happening…her boyfriend was breaking up with her because he had fallen in love with one of her best friends. In the two years she had been a Guardian, Cornelia had seen a lot of strange and horrible things…but a lot of wonderful things had happened, too. Finding Caleb and her friends were two of those things. And while Cornelia knew that she and Caleb had been having some problems lately she certainly never expected this to happen.

"So…what?" Cornelia asked angry again. "When you couldn't find me, you went and slept with Will?"

"Nothing happened. After I left your house I went back to the restaurant, but I couldn't sleep. Will and I haven't really slept in a week…we keep having nightmares," he explained. "I keep seeing Will being killed by Cedric or Phobos, and I can't move or do anything to help her." He shook his head trying to clear his mind of the image. "Wills' dreams are the same, only she sees me. Anyway, I couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a walk and somehow I found myself standing in front of Wills' apartment building. There was only one light on and I knew it was hers. The next thing I know I'm climbing in her window. We talked and realized that we had slept fine when we were together…and we both desperately needed to sleep…"

Cornelia sighed as she mentally reviewed the past week. Why hadn't she noticed how tired they both were? Or how different he seemed to be?

"So, that's it then…" she said quietly. "I guess there's nothing more to say." Cornelia turned to Caleb and met his eyes, no longer trying to hide the tears.

Caleb shook his head sadly. "I guess not…I'm sorry," he apologized again, having a feeling that he was going to be saying that for a while.

Cornelia took a couple of deep breaths before standing. With one last look at Caleb she turned and walked away from him.


End file.
